


A Lively Home

by LegendaryBiologist13



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24660700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendaryBiologist13/pseuds/LegendaryBiologist13
Summary: Azuma wonders why Mankai dorm feels special to him.
Relationships: Arisugawa Homare/Mikage Hisoka, Takatoo Tasuku/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 78





	A Lively Home

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Writers Anonymous Special Places Challenge at FFnet.
> 
> "Just about everyone has a place that's special to them, whether it's their bedroom, a tree house, a secret clubhouse, or a city they will always call home. But why is this place special? Is it special to just one character or two several characters? Just some ideas that we could write about with this prompt."

Sitting at the desk under his loft bed, Azuma cast a longing gaze at the neighboring bed. No desk. No mattress. Nothing. It reminded him of his family house, in which he'd always wake up to see the same nothingness.

In Mankai dorm, though, it never seemed to be a complete nothingness. Perhaps it was because a new actor might join the theater company someday. Or perhaps it was because Hisoka slept there sometimes.

Perhaps it was because Azuma didn't need to hope for the dead to come back to life.

Then why did Mankai dorm feel different from the apartment he used to stay at? Both places, regardless of the time of the day, always had people chatting and walking outside his room. Sometimes, someone would also drop by for a chat.

One could always hope for visitors, even though they came and went like the wind. Fleeting and ephemeral, just like life.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Rising from his seat, Azuma glanced at the clock on his desk. A visitor at 9PM? How nice.

"Coming." He walked towards the door and opened it. Hisoka stood before him, in pajamas and a nightcap, with his penguin plushie Penpen in his arms. Although he was already 25, he still looked like a sleepy kid.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Hisoka asked, his face grumpy. "Arisu is noisy."

Azuma chuckled. "Sure."

"Thanks." With a smile, Hisoka walked past Azuma and towards the empty loft bed.

Watching Hisoka sleep on that vacant bed always warmed his heart, as Azuma wouldn't wake up to see that nothingness the next morning. However, he couldn't imagine how one could sleep there without getting a backache or worse. "Isn't it better if you sleep in your room?" Azuma closed the door. "Or would you like me to get a mattress for you?"

Hisoka climbed up the ladder and lay on the bed. "It's okay. I can sleep anywhere as long as it's quiet."

_Knock, knock, knock._

Another guest? Smiling, Azuma opened the door. It was Homare, or "Arisu" as Hisoka would call him, in pajamas.

"Good evening, Azuma! Did you happen to see-"

"You're so loud, Arisu," Hisoka grumbled from the loft bed.

"Oh, there you are, Hisoka! Good grief, you cannot simply sleep in Azuma's room every night!" Homare yelled. "You will bother Azuma that way!"

"Shut up!"

"Honestly, I don't mind," Azuma told Homare. "I can always use a company when I sleep."

Homare looked down, sadness clouding his visage. "I am quite concerned about his well-being. Wouldn't he hurt himself by sleeping like that?"

"I don't care. I just wanna sleep," Hisoka replied.

"If you say so… Ah, I have an idea!" Grinning, Homare turned away. "I shall bring a mattress here. Please watch over him, Azuma." Then he ran off.

"Of course." Azuma closed the door. Then he approached Hisoka's bed and climbed the ladder. Hisoka was curled up on the bed, asleep, with his arms wrapped tightly around Penpen.

Whenever Azuma looked at the sleeping Hisoka, he couldn't help but tear up. According to his mother, his big brother often looked at him like that. It only lasted until he was at the upper grades of elementary, though. Not that his big brother didn't want to do it; he _couldn't_ do it anymore.

Perhaps Mankai dorm felt different from the apartment because it had something to remind him of the short-lived moments of joy with his big brother.

"This is heavy!" came Homare's shout from behind the door. Thankfully, Hisoka remained fast asleep.

Wiping his tears with a finger, Azuma descended from the loft bed and headed towards the door. Just as he opened it, he heard Tasuku say, "Stop complaining. You aren't carrying it by yourself."

"How about you put it this way, Homare?" Tsumugi suggested. "You're carrying the mattress for Hisoka because you care about him."

The room across Azuma's had its door open. Tasuku and Homare were carrying the mattress out of the room, all while Tsumugi walked beside them. Their troupe respected their leader, Azuma knew that, but Tasuku might have something to do with forbidding Tsumugi from doing any of the work.

Approaching the entrance of Azuma's room, Tasuku said, "Hey, Azuma. Here's the mattress for Hisoka."

Azuma stepped aside. "Thanks."

As Tasuku and Homare hoisted the mattress across the room, Tsumugi stopped beside Azuma. The man looked into his eyes, at which Azuma instinctively pulled away.

Tsumugi gasped. "Sorry."

Azuma smiled. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just surprised."

Tsumugi nodded. "You can always count on us, okay? We'll always be here for you whenever you need us."

That hit the spot. No matter how hard Azuma tried to hold back his tears, they welled in his eyes before running down his cheeks. "Thank you," he murmured. He knew he'd just let his pathetic side show, but if it were his troupe mates, it should be fine.

"It's okay. We all understand." Tsumugi paused. "Speaking of, I wonder if they're done with the mattress."

Azuma looked at the loft beds. Tasuku and Homare were setting down the mattress as Hisoka slept with Penpen on the neighboring bed.

"Tasuku didn't let me carry the mattress," Tsumugi muttered.

Azuma chuckled. "I knew it."

"He was like, 'Remember that time you dropped a thick textbook on your foot?'" Tsumugi shrugged. "He's too protective."

"He's such a sweet guy, isn't he?"

"More like a worrywart."

Tasuku glared at them. "I hear that!"

"Oh, the pain…" Homare rambled, scrutinizing his hands. "My hands are a burning, throbbing, swelling pair of appendages…"

"The hell? They look fine!"

Hisoka twitched.

Tsumugi rushed towards the loft bed, his brow furrowed. "Be quiet. Hisoka is trying to sleep."

Yet Homare went on. "You will never learn how to compose wonderful poems if you do not compose them regularly."

"By 'regularly' you mean 24/7." Tasuku folded his arms over his chest. "Are those even poems anyway?"

"A musclebound moron like you will never understand the beauty of art."

Tasuku growled. "Wow. Just wow."

"Keep it down, you two!" Tsumugi yelled.

Hisoka sat up, frowning. Then without a word, he stood up, climbed down the loft bed, and ran out of the room, with Penpen in his arms.

"Oh, no! Hisoka!" Homare descended the ladder and ran after Hisoka. "Come back here!"

Tasuku facepalmed. "Not again."

Alone by the entrance of his room, Azuma laughed. What a familiar, yet entertaining spectacle. Only Mankai dorm could provide that.

However, Mankai dorm was where Azuma could be sure that his troupe mates would always be there for him, even if they would soon leave his room, even if Hisoka might not sleep in his room tonight. Waking up to see the nothingness that reminded him of his family house, yet not feeling lonesome, was more than enough for Azuma.


End file.
